Hurricane Philippe
Hurricane Philippe was an extremely intense category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic ocean, and one of the deadliest Atlantic tropical cyclones on record. Philippe tore through the Caribbean, devastating Haiti and Cuba primarily. Hurricane Philippe is currently the second costliest Cuba hurricane on record. Philippe was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2023 season, and one of only two known Atlantic storms to go below 920 millibars and not reach Category 5. The other was Hurricane Opal. Philippe originated from a low pressure area off South America. It developed on October 9, and moved northward. It peaked as a C4 and struck Haiti and Cuba. It the entered the Bahamas. Unfavorable conditions resulted in weakening of the storm, and it dissipated on October 15, but persisted until October 17. Philippe's name was retired due to the extreme damage in Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Meteorological History Formation A broad low pressure area developed over South America in late September of 2023. The system remained in this state until early October, when it began to move westward. The NHC monitored the system for development, noting that almost all models developed the storm. While the storm initially struggled to develop convection, it quickly developed a closed circulation. The developing system then passed just north of Panama, causing rain and flooding for the first time since Hurricane Otto in 2016. Due to moderately dry air in the region, the system continued to struggle. By October 8, it had minimal convection, and the NHC was debating dropping the system, but they kept it at 10/10. The next day, however, a tremendous convective burst occurred over the storm, and it began to circulate. Based on this, the National Hurricane Center began issuing advisories on Tropical Depression Nineteen. Upon formation, the system was quickly developing banding aspects. The initial forecast track had a weak hurricane striking Nicaragua. Only 6 hours after formation, gale-force winds were found by recon, and the NHC upgraded Nineteen to a tropical storm, and named it Philippe. Intensification Upon being named, Philippe, continued a slow north to northwest motion. Despite low shear and warm waters, dry air prevented rapid intensification, but did allow for gradual intensification. An eye feature developed in the storm late on October 11, and the next day, Philippe intensified into a hurricane, with winds of 75 miles per hour. With dry air lessening around the storm, the NHC noted the possibility for rapid intensification. After a brief phase of stalling, Philippe did exactly that, and its wind field began to rapidly expand. With well defined banding and a circular structure, Philippe intensified into a major hurricane on October 12. Later that day, a small pinhole eye began to pop out, and Philippe was upgraded to category 4 status that evening. Philippe began to accelerate northward on October 13. Shortly before its approach to Haiti, Philippe attained peak intensity, with winds of 150 mph, and a very low pressure of 919 millibars. Shortly after peak, Philippe made a direct hit on the Tiburon Peninsula, but the eye remained offshore. This is turn caused Philippe to weaken, as the eye became more clouded. It continued north. Landfall and Dissipation Despite Philippe's loss in organization, it remained strong. On October 13, Philippe made landfall east of San Antonio Del Sur, Cuba, as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph. Philippe's structure deteriorated even quicker than before as it traversed the mountainous island. It emerged off the coast as a minimal category 3 hurricane that night. The next morning, Philippe weakened below major hurricane status. Despite warm waters, wind shear was very high in the Bahamas, causing Philippe to weaken further. It exited the Bahamas on October 14, as a 90 mph hurricane. With conditions worsening, Philippe began to undergo extratropical transition. It began to accelerate to the east, and completed this transition on October 15. Philippe's remnants raced across the Atlantic, eventually impacting Ireland and the United Kingdom. Other than heavy rain and high winds, impacts were minimal, however. Impacts Cuba Cuba took the biggest hit from Philippe. After Philippe made landfall as a 140 mph hurricane. Damages were very severe. Several coastal cities were flooded due to storm surge, and those that didn't took a beating from the storm's high winds. Prior to the storm's landfall, shelters were set up over Cuba. However, 65 people died when one of these shelters was destroyed and washed away. Philippe's damage tolls are about $5.2 Billion (2023 USD), which makes it the second costliest Cuba hurricane on record. Haiti The Tiburon Peninsula took a big hit, just as recovery from Hurricane Matthew from several years before was finishing. Severe mudslides occurred over a majority of Haiti due to Philippe's size, which in turn caused over 1,000 people to lose their lives. At the peak of Philippe, 145 mph winds battered the end of the Peninsula, causing very high property and crop damage. Overall damage totaled to about $850 Million (2023 USD) Bahamas Although Philippe was much weaker, it managed to have a notable impact here. Several smaller islands in the storm's path took huge amounts of storm surge. Some private islands were also severely damaged. Two people died when they were dragged out to sea. Philippe caused about $100 million (2023 USD) in damage in the Bahamas. Retirement Due to the devastating impacts of this storm in Cuba, Haiti, and other regions, the WMO retired the name Philippe from the rotating name lists, and it will never be used for another Atlantic hurricane. The name Percival was selected to replace it for the 2029 season.Category:Category 4 Atlantic Hurricanes Category:Retired storms Category:Costly storms Category:Deadly storms Category:Devestating tropical cyclones Category:Retired Storm Names Category:VileMaster